Army study recommends 2,000 more troops in state

The Army wants to station nearly 2,000 more soldiers in Hawaii, phasing them in between now and 2013.

That is the recommendation in a final environmental impact statement released yesterday. The EIS said 1,700 soldiers would be sent to Schofield Barracks with the remaining 300 stationed at Fort Shafter.

Col. Wayne Shanks, spokesman for the U.S. Army in the Pacific, said the recommendation has to be approved by the Pentagon. That decision is expected by the end of August.

The Army currently has 19,000 soldiers stationed in Hawaii.

The study looked at the possibility of adding 6,070 more soldiers -- 600 in a fire or artillery brigade, up to 2,900 in a combat aviation brigade, 570 in a maneuver enhancement brigade and the 2,000 that were ultimately recommended.

That group includes engineers, military police, combat support personnel and headquarters personnel.

The study recommended sending the maneuver brigade to Fort Drum in New York instead of Hawaii and that another 2,200 troops be stationed in Alaska. There was no recommendation made on the other brigades included in the study.

The notice of availability of the final EIS was published yesterday in the Federal Register. The final environmental impact statement is available at www.aec.army.mil.